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9th Week in Ordinary Time

Date:

Tue, 06/06/2017

Author:

Rev. Msgr. Donald Enzweiler

I’m tempted to stir the pot a bit this morning.
Conduct a debate on the pros and cons of our current presidential leadership.
People have pretty strong opinions.
I imagine things might become rather animated.
Feelings on the matter run deep.
Maybe it’s time for these to show themselves….
let people speak their mind whether in support or in opposition.

What is the truth within and underneath this 6:30AM Mass community?
Will the discussion remain civil or will it digress into
derogatory comments about the lack of intelligence and name calling?
Why do people have such clear political convictions
and why are they willing to go out of their way to defend such positions?

What do you think Jesus would do if he came and stood among us
and personally observed our passionate albeit negatively charged debate?
He would turn the situation into a lesson about our relationship with God.
He would shift the focus of attention away from political concerns
and toward spiritual concerns.
He would issue a challenge. He might say….
“your faithfulness to a certain political order is ardent.
You are willing to promote and defend what you believe to be sound political action.
Don’t forget about or lose sight of promoting and defending the divine order of things.
Political realities pass away.
Divine realities last forever.
Your obligation to live according to God’s order of things
far outweighs any obligation you feel toward particular political philosophy.”

Christianity can never be reduced to politics.
What is spiritual can never be reduced to what is material.
As Christians we must be careful not to reduce our spiritual purposes to political purposes.
If and when our political pursuits become more important than our spiritual pursuits
we have compromised our loyalty to God.

We must constantly assess our motivations,
we must constantly seek to understand what motivates our interests and expectations
and if necessary realign our desires with God’s desires.
The only rule that will never become corrupted, will never submit to sin,
that will lead to the proper ordering of human life….is God’s rule.